An Outsider's View
by 12reader
Summary: Lightning Thief AU. The gods are taken to task for their mistakes and failures by someone who has watched everything happen and wants things to change.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Percy Jackson universe.**

The throne room on Mount Olympus was filled with silent tension. Annabeth and Percy had left about ten minutes ago, having made their report and met their 'relatives' for the first time in the flesh, if you could call it that. With disaster averted and the thief now known, there should've been a feeling of relief amongst the gods. But for some reason, the whole 'climax' seemed to fall flat. The tension hadn't yet cleared from the air and no-one had said a word since Poseidon had said goodbye to his son. It was almost a feeling of 'waiting for the other shoe to drop', as the mortals would say and none of the gods could fathom why. Everything should be fine now.

"Why so tense, my lords and ladies?"

Everyone looked toward the entrance. A young woman who looked to be in her mid-20s was leaning casually against one of the pillars, arms folded against her chest. Her posture suggested that she'd been there for at least ten minutes; she was very relaxed.

Of course, Zeus immediately tensed. "Who are you, woman? How did you get in here? Mortals cannot come to Olympus."

The unknown female pushed away from the pillar. "Correct, otherwise Sally Jackson would've accompanied her son up here. Pity, that, I was looking forward to meeting the woman too." She walked further into the hall. "My name is not important, though I sense that you will threaten me with your newly-returned toy if I don't tell. Am I wrong?"

Zeus closed his mouth and glared at the woman in irritation. Hermes and Apollo restrained their amusement for the moment.

"Well, as it doesn't matter, I'll keep my silence. Let's just say that I'm a person on the outside looking in and let me tell you, I don't like what I've seen. Haven't you realized yet that everything that happened recently is your own fault?"

All of the immortals tensed and got looks of outrage on their faces. "Oh, don't even try that! Except for Artemis, Hera and Hestia, _none_ of you are exempt from blame. I mean, seriously! Why bother having children when all they really do is clean up _your_ messes and die before their time more often than not?"

Her eyes locked onto Zeus at this point as she continued, "Luke stole the Bolt to get revenge on _you_! _You're_ the one who passed the law which prohibits your family from interacting with their children! Well, if you're not going to interact with them, don't bother _having _them in the first place. _Especially if you already have a gorgeous wife… who happens to be the Goddess of Marriage, y'know!"_

Hera looked slightly vindicated at that moment and nodded to the woman in thanks.

Poseidon was snickering at his brother's predicament when the woman changed the subjct. "And while we're on the subject of family, hasn't this rivalry between Poseidon and Athena gone on long enough? How long does it take before gods relinquish grudges, huh? Or is that never? Well, it's ridiculous and childish! And speaking of ridiculous, what's the deal with you accusing your own brothers of stealing your Bolt, Zeus? Did you ever stop to think that maybe if you quit lording over them, you'd have two powerful men at your back rather than two men who practically hate you because of your attitude? And then you take it a step further and try to kill any offspring who seem too powerful or unpredictable, _your own nieces and nephews_! You cursed your _daughter_ to be the source of the Greek camp's barrier for centuries but that didn't even matter! Your will be done!"

She glared at the 'King of the Gods'. "Are you getting it yet? _Everything_ comes back to you and your arrogant pride, your paranoia. Well, it needs to change, otherwise one of these days, you'll run out of demi-gods to use for quests and have to get off your throne to do your job yourself. By that time, your family will probably be gone or unable to help you and you'll really regret your mistakes. Percy won't be around forever and even now he's a risk at becoming like Luke. So you'd better wake up, Mr. Lightning Bolt before you find yourself enjoying a bitter buffet of regret and loneliness."

The woman took a step back and looked at the other gods with a hard gaze. "You lot need to stand up to him and stop being afraid. Let go of your own insecurities and pride because the demi-gods are still children who barely have any idea of what they're doing. They need more than paltry gifts and off-on guidance from their family and I hope you do better from now on. Otherwise, who will want to belief in those who won't get off their thrones for their own children for more than five minutes?"

She turned on her heel and walked back toward the door. Once there, she paused and said, "My name is not important. But know this: I am a woman who loves children and as far as I'm concerned, you are the worst parents anyone could wish for if you think you're doing right by those kids. Enjoy your rule, Gods of Olympus." The words 'Fix This' were not said but still obvious.

The moment she stepped through the door, the mysterious woman vanished. The gods were left to contemplate everything she had said and the picture painted for them was not pretty. They might be immortal and powerful but their mistakes were many and they were just now beginning to see how much those mistakes affected everything around them.


End file.
